Chuck Versus Sam
by FluffyPikachuLovesYou
Summary: Follow up to Chuck Versus the Fake Name. After overhearing Sarah tell her real name to Shaw, Chuck has an unusual reaction and Sarah is not happy about it. Charah. One-shot. Sarah-centric.


Not a Kitchen update, unfortunately, but I found this in my archives and realized I never posted it. It's my take on the the whole Fake Name fiasco. I, like many of you, was unsatisfied with the lack of addressing of this. Hopefully there aren't too many grammatical errors. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Chuck. Otherwise, I would have gotten the episode count up to an even 100 before I ended the show.

* * *

A loud banging on the door interrupted the conversation she and Shaw were having. "Open the door!" a loud voice yelled, followed by more banging. Shaw went over and opened it. Chuck burst through the door, pushing Shaw.

"What's going on?" Sarah asked, confused.

"Shut your mouth, I'll deal with you later," Chuck said, his voice uncharacteristically vicious.

"What's your problem?" Shaw inquired, just as confused as Sarah.

"My problem is that nobody messes with Rafe Gruber." Realization seemed to set in with the two other agents in the room. "They're watching us," Chuck muttered just loud enough for them to hear. Chuck grabbed Shaw by his shirt.

"I'd like you to remove those," Shaw said calmly.

"No, no, no. These are the hands that are gonna kill you, Shaw."

"What are you doing?!" Sarah asked, not enjoying the scene unfolding in front of her. Chuck tilted his head in a way to acknowledge he'd heard her, before continuing.

"You stole my girl. I'm gonna end you for taking Sam!" Chuck snarled. Sarah could feel her world shatter all around her. He'd heard her. She'd hadn't registered anything after that until Chuck gave Shaw a strong right hook to the jaw and the two started wrestling. There wasn't anything she could do as the two rolled all over the floor. Eventually, Shaw got the upper hand and began pounding on Chuck.

"Shaw, enough!" she tried in vain. Shaw pinned Chuck down with his hand around the taller man's throat.

"Would you stop already? I'm trying to sell myself as Rafe!" Chuck managed to get out. "They're across the street with a sniper rifle. They're gonna kill all of us!"

"No, _I'm_ gonna kill all of you," a new voice said. Sarah spun and began attacking the real Rafe Gruber. However, because she'd been caught off guard, he managed to easily toss her aside.

As she tumbled off of the couch, everything went black. She was slowly coming to when someone grabbed her by the hair. "Wake up, pretty," Rafe said. "That's it. Come here, yeah." She struggled against him, but couldn't overpower him. Both men cried their pleas of protest. Rafe simply chuckled as he pressed the barrel of his gun against her neck. "You two got it bad for this blonde. Can't say I blame you. I'm gonna make it easy on both of you. Take her out of the equation." Sarah looked into both Shaw and Chuck's eyes, silently telling them she was sorry. For what? She didn't even know. For a lot of things, really. Too many to count. Hopefully, they would get the message. She grabbed the gun and yanked down when a gunshot echoed. For the second time in the last two minutes, Sarah blacked out. When she came to, she saw Rafe with a single bullet hole in the middle of his forehead. Both Chuck and Shaw had relieved looks on their face, one that must've matched the look on her own face.

Once everyone realized that the immediate danger was over, Shaw went to call in a cleaner crew, leaving Chuck and Sarah standing by the window, Chuck looking like he was about to pass out. "Chuck?" Sarah said, looking into his eyes. She could see the hurt and confusion in his eyes; it broke her heart, knowing that she was once again the cause of his pain.

"I uh… I have to go. I'll leave my report in Castle," was all he said, before leaving. Sarah hadn't seen him for the rest of the day.

When she and Shaw returned to Castle, Chuck's mission report was sitting on the conference table as promised. Putting it away, Sarah went to write her own. Halfway through, she looked back at Shaw, who was busy, buried in the mission paperwork. Getting an idea, she left Castle and headed over to the Buy More and then to Chinatown. When she returned, Shaw was still at his desk, working. "So, now that the Ring knows you're alive, looks like you're gonna be down here for a while, so I bought you that," she said. "It's a crock-pot. They're practically giving them away at the Buy More." They chuckled before Sarah continued. "And just so you know, Castle is outside of Bamboo Dragon's delivery radius."

"Thank you… Sam." Sarah didn't know how to feel at Shaw's use of her real name, but she was glad that someone knew. Maybe now, she could find herself. Now that the little girl that wanted a home and a place to belong was out in the open, she could find that. And in that moment, it didn't matter who helped her. She leaned forward and pressed her lips against Shaw's and the two of them kissed; it intensified as they took it from the desk to the cot were Shaw would be staying.

Chuck had Hannah and seemed happy with her. He'd moved on. Maybe it was time for Sarah to do the same.

•-•

It'd been two weeks since the Rafe mission and they hadn't had a single mission since. It was safe to say that everyone was getting edgy over the lack of something to do. It'd had also been two weeks since Chuck and Sarah had a proper conversation. Any attempt made by her was quickly shut down by a quick answer that left no room for a response or some excuse that he had to be somewhere else. Anytime Chuck started a conversation with her, it was only for her input on a piece of intelligence that had caught his eye. Yet, he had not flashed so there was nothing they could do on the intel. It was really strange to see Chuck acting more professional around Castle. Gone were his jokes and witty comments at things he'd read or heard. In fact, the only time she'd seen him smile since the Rafe incident was when Casey was telling him about some stupid thing that Jeff had done at the Buy More. And even then, she could see that the smile didn't quite reach his eyes. It broke her heart.

Sarah was looking over intel to see if they could find a possible lead on the Ring's next movements when Chuck came down the stairs to Castle, Casey hot on his heels. Sarah sneaked a glance at the curly-haired man and took note of the way his jaw was set tight and he had a detached, professional look on his face. "So what was so important that we had to rush down to Castle, Bartowski?" Casey barked. Chuck ignored him. Instead, he went up to the conference table and pressed a button. Immediately, the general appeared on the screen.

"Yes?" the tiny, redheaded general inquired.

"General, I flashed," Chuck said, jumping right to the point. That got everyone's attention, Shaw and Sarah stood from their workstations and beside Chuck and Casey, waiting for Chuck to continue.

"When, Agent Bartowski?"

"At the Buy More. There was a news report on a technology conference being held in Houston this weekend. I think the Ring is going to be there. I just don't know why."

"Very good, Agent Bartowski, I'll have my analysts look into it. Team, sit tight and be ready for action."

"Yes, General," the four agents said in chorus just as the General disconnected the call.

"Good work, Bartowski," Shaw said, clapping Chuck on the back before heading back to his desk.

"Yeah. Maybe now we can finally have some action around here," Casey commented before heading off into armory to inspect the weapons, leaving Chuck and Sarah alone.

"Good work, Chuck," she said with a soft smile. Chuck looked back at her and returned the smile; again, it didn't reach his eyes.

"Thanks," he said before heading to his workstation to dig through more intel to see what information he could find on the tech convention. Sarah felt a pang in her heart at once again being brushed off by Chuck, although, she felt slightly better that he smiled at her even though it wasn't his special smile. The one he had reserved just for her. Though, she guessed she didn't really deserve that smile anymore. She'd probably lost all rights to that smile the moment she chose Shaw. Sarah bit her lip.

She was sure that Chuck would have wanted to talk to her, wanted to tell her what he was feeling, wanted to try and find out what she was feeling, thinking. But, he'd been avoiding her like the plague. They weren't together, no, but Sarah liked being at least Chuck's friend. Being able to talk to him about things. The way he could just tell what she was feeling. He made her feel like she mattered and without him to be there for her, it made her feel empty. Shaw didn't have the open personality that Chuck did, the one that made her feel completely safe, emotionally and mentally. Sure, Shaw had tried to talk to her, get her to open up, but it didn't feel right to tell him her inner most thoughts. It used to be easy, but now, it was hard. She didn't know what the change was. She could still tell him how she felt about how she didn't like the way Chuck was changing, but when it came to how she felt deep down, to her past, it was as though someone had clogged her thoughts. "Hey, Chuck?" she said, surprising the nerd and herself. "Can we talk?" Chuck looked at her, his eyes gauging something, probably her reason for wanting to talk.

"I'm sorry, I wish we could, but my break is almost up and I have to get back to the Buy More," was all he said before standing. As though they had rehearsed it, Casey came up, walking right past them, calling over his shoulder.

"You comin', Bartowski?"

"I'm coming, Casey," Chuck called back, his eyes not leaving Sarah's. "I'll see you later S–" Chuck's sentence came to a complete stop and confusion and hurt flashed through his eyes before all emotion disappeared. "I'll see you later," he amended, before following the large NSA Colonel up the stairs. Sarah frowned. That was another thing she'd noticed. Ever since the Rafe mission, he'd avoided using her name. Sometimes, he'd nearly slip and say it but then he'd catch himself and adjust to avoid it all together. Every time it happened, Sarah would feel the familiar pang of pain in her chest. She missed the way her name rolled off his lips as though it were his favorite thing to say. And, it was her favorite thing to hear. But now, he wouldn't even say it and he barely looked at her.

All she wanted was to make things right with him. Even if they weren't together, she wanted him around. It was incredibly selfish of her, she knew, but she couldn't help it. She needed to talk to him. She had to.

•-•

At around five in the evening, when Chuck and Casey's shifts ended at the Buy More, Sarah subconsciously was keeping an eye on the door to Castle. Fifteen minutes after five, the door opened and the two other original members of Team Bartowski came through the door. Sarah tried in vain to catch Chuck's eye but he seemed to be making the effort to not look at her. "Any news?" Casey asked as he reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Beckman will be online soon," Sarah informed. As if on cue, the screen came to life and all four members of Team Bartowski stood at attention in front of the monitor.

"Hello, team," she greeted, her tone completely professional. "We have news. Our analysts have found that there isn't anything at the actual tech convention worth the Ring's attention, however, one of the people attending the convention is of possible concern." Beckman pressed a button on her keyboard and a picture of a man in his late-twenties popped up. Sarah had to agree that the man was fairly attractive, however more on the average side. He had long brunette hair that hung low to his shoulders, the top of his head covered by a beanie. "This man is Crawford Brooks. Infamously known as the elusive hacker, The Reaper." Sarah could see Chuck tense out of the corner of her eye. Apparently, Beckman saw it as well.

"Anything to add, Agent Bartowski?" she asked. Everyone turned their attention to the tall nerd.

"Uh… No, General." Casey rolled his eyes.

"You might as well say it," he said with a grunt. Chuck looked around the room before continuing.

"I know him," he admitted. "Well, not really, but we've worked together in the past on a… hack."

"You're a hacker?" Sarah asked. Chuck looked at her.

"Was. I was a hacker. One of the best if I do say so myself." Casey grunted again, though to Sarah, it sounded more like a scoff.

"What can you tell us about the mark, moron?"

"He's really good. We've never met face to face but we worked together when I was still at Stanford. We were… hacking an online computer game… to see if we could trace the IP address back to the designing company. I managed to get past the company's firewall and was about to pull out when my screen started showing the company's finance records. When I saw the money start to transfer, I did whatever I could to stop it. I managed to put the firewall back up but not after 5 million dollars were transferred out. I tried to track it down but it was like the money just disappeared. He's good. Doesn't leave a single trail."

"You said you never met face to face," Shaw commented. "How did you communicate?"

"Just through a chat room. Of course there were so many channels that we put up so we couldn't be traced. Hackers… They're just as paranoid as spies are when it comes to things like that."

"So he won't know your face or voice?" the General asked.

"No."

"Very well. We've found that the convention will kick off with a 'hack-a-thon'. Chuck, you will go and participate. Make contact with Brooks. Find out what the Ring wants with him. Your cover will be that of Charles Carmichael, software and technology entrepreneur. Agent Walker, you will accompany Chuck as his wife, Sarah Carmichael. The two of you will leave tomorrow at 1200 to set up operations. All of your itinerary has already been taken care of. Colonel Casey, you will stay in Castle keep operations running there, providing support if needed. Shaw, your flight to D.C. is scheduled for tomorrow morning at 0900 hours. You are dismissed." Beckman cut the feed and Casey walked off, grumbling about how he was, yet again, left out of the mission. Chuck had a troubled look on his face but walked away to most likely prepare for the upcoming mission. Shaw walked off, back into his office to continue whatever he was doing before the briefing with the general. Sarah fought with herself over going to talk to Chuck and asking Shaw why he didn't tell her about his going to D.C. Figuring that she'd have an entire weekend to talk to Chuck at the convention, she followed Shaw into his office.

"D.C.? When were you going to tell me about you going to D.C.?" she asked once they were alone.

"After the briefing," Shaw said, not missing a step in what he was doing.

"What are you going to be doing in D.C.?"

"I'm seeing the joint chiefs for my progress report on Bartowski's training."

"How long will you be gone?"

"Just a couple of days." Shaw stopped what he was doing and looked at her. "Don't worry, Sarah. I'll be back when you and Chuck get back from Houston." He walked up to her and kissed her softly. "You need to focus on your mission." Sarah looked away with a soft nod. "Go." Sarah left his office and headed into the armory to pack up her mission gear. As she picked up the extra mags for her Smith & Wesson, Chuck walked in and froze upon seeing her.

"Oh! Uh… I can come back later," he stammered.

"It's fine," Sarah said. She continued packing her mission bag. Chuck stood at the door for a moment before stepping in all the way, grabbing his tranq pistols and extra clips before stuffing it into his own mission bag. "I guess," Sarah said, trying to start a conversation, "you'll have to find an excuse to tell Hannah about why you'll be gone for the weekend."

"We broke up," Chuck replied. "Two weeks ago." Sarah winced.

_Fantastic,_ she thought.

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine." He stuffed a box of tranq darts into his bag. "I'll see you later."

As he was leaving, Sarah called out to him. It was lame, but at that point she was willing to try anything to start a conversation. "Hey, Chuck?" He turned.

"Yeah?"

"What am I supposed to wear to a tech convention?" Chuck blinked, no doubt wondering why she'd even ask a question like that.

"Uh… I guess what you normally wear. Blouse, jeans, maybe bring one cocktail dress and a business casual outfit." Sarah smiled.

"Thanks." Confusion flashed in his eyes very briefly.

"No… problem," he said before leaving. It was then that Sarah made a promise to herself. She was going to fix her relationship with Chuck. Maybe they wouldn't be dating, but any relationship with Chuck was a good one.

•-•

They showed up to the Hilton Americas hotel at three in the afternoon the next day and checked in, making their way up to their suite. Sarah was already annoyed and the mission hadn't even officially started. When she came by Chuck's apartment earlier that day, he hadn't said anything past a tired 'good morning' before placing his bag in her trunk and climbing into her passenger seat. Then, on the flight there, he did nothing but play on his little handheld game. The more Sarah tried to talk to him, the more he tried to shut her out. Now, on their way up to their shared room, Chuck continued to give her the silent treatment, not saying anything. They walked in and Chuck immediately blanched at the large queen sized bed. "What's wrong?" Sarah asked, putting her bag onto the bed.

"There's only one bed," Chuck pointed out, obviously. "Should I go ask for another room?"

"What? Why?"

"Because there's only one bed."

"Chuck. We're supposed to be married. How do you think it will look if you ask for a room with two beds?"

"You're right." Chuck looked around the room. "I'll just sleep on the couch."

"What?"

"The couch. I'll sleep on the couch."

"Don't be crazy. We can share the bed," she insisted.

"No." He said the word with such conviction that Sarah had to stop going through her suitcase and looked at him.

"No?"

"I… I mean… I'll just take the couch. It's no big deal."

"Chuck, we've shared a bed before," she pointed out, wondering why he was now adamant about not sleeping in the same bed as her.

"But that wasn't real. It was a cover."

_That hurt._ Sarah felt the all too familiar pang in her chest. Her time with Chuck never felt fake or like a cover. She watched his back as he unzipped his own suitcase and started digging through it.

"Barstow wasn't a cover," she pointed out. Chuck froze.

"That doesn't count," he said after a while, continuing his actions. "That was different."

"Well, if it makes you feel better, this is still a cover." Sarah didn't want to say it, but she had to, if not to convince him to just sleep in the damn bed.

Chuck just shook his head. "It's different now."

"How?"

"You're dating someone!" he shouted, his tone harsher than necessary. "I'm sorry. I-I shouldn't have yelled. But, what I said still stands. You're with Shaw now and I'm not the kind of guy to overstep boundaries. So, I'd feel better to just be on the couch." Only Chuck could have feelings for a girl and not take advantage of a situation. He was a gentleman like that. And, it was just in his nature to be completely considerate of others, not worrying about himself. That still didn't make things better. And, she knew that there was no way he was going to let _her_ take the couch so she relented.

"Fine. Take the damn couch." She placed her suitcase on the floor at the foot of the bed, grabbed her clothes and bathroom bag, and moved toward the bathroom. "I'm going to take a shower."

"Fine."

Sarah went into the restroom and started the shower, pulling out her things. When everything was set, she stepped in and allowed the hot water to burn away all of her inner demons, wishing, not for the first time, that it actually would burn away all the little bastards that stewed inside of her. So, Chuck was, what, bitter that she chose Shaw? No. He didn't show any signs of bitterness. It was more of… resignation. As though he'd given up? No, accepted that she was with someone who wasn't him. Even after years of, not so secretly, pining for her. She didn't know exactly how to feel about that. Of course it broke her heart; Chuck had been the one to show her that there was more to life beyond spying, to show her that it was possible for a person like her to be loved. Sure Shaw made her feel special, but she didn't get a warm feeling when he smiled at her the way that she got one whenever Chuck smiled at her. Now, he barely looked at her and barely talked to her and he wouldn't even say her name. She'd resolved to make things better, however, Chuck was not making things easy for her. She needed to step up her game.

She finished her shower and got dressed and ready for bed. She stepped out of the bathroom in only her tank top and boyshort underwear, rubbing a towel through her hair, her bathroom bag in her free hand. "Bathroom's all yours," she said nonchalantly, trying to make it sound like she didn't really care. Chuck was already sprawled across the couch somewhat awkwardly. His feet hung off the end even as he was already using the armrest as a pillow. He was watching some sci-fi movie on the television. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Chuck glance at her just as she was bending over to put her things back in her suitcase. She nearly smirked when he did a double take; thankfully, she managed to hold back.

She knew that teasing him was wrong, but he just made it so easy and she knew that eventually, he'd call her out on it and that would give her the window to start up a conversation. The plan wasn't foolproof by any means, as Chuck was prone to suck up any complaints for the sake of being the consummate gentleman, but it gave her a chance and allowed her to have some fun as well. She stood back up and purposefully made a show of her fixing her tank back over the hem of her underwear. With a little extra sway of her hips, Sarah walked over to the top of the bed and settled in. As a little extra, she moaned as she sunk into the soft mattress under the fluffy duvet. She knew Chuck had had enough when he all but bolted into the bathroom, punctuating his exit with a loud slam of the door. Sarah chuckled softly to herself before reaching over to continue where she left off earlier on the mission specs and intel.

Thirty minutes later, Chuck came back out of the bathroom and made a beeline for his couch, his eyes purposely avoiding looking at anything else. He shut off the television and the lamp beside the couch and went to work trying to find the once comfortable position he was in. Sarah did her best to ignore him as he continued to shuffle around on the couch. Finally, fifteen minutes later, the ruffling of sheets stopped and Sarah inwardly sighed in relief, welcoming the silence as she closed the mission file and turned off the lamp beside the bed. Now in the dark silence, Sarah was just about to fall asleep when the sound of Chuck moving around again on the couch woke her up once more. She waited patiently for him to stop and soon enough he did. Once again in silence, Sarah tried to fall asleep again. As before, just as Sarah was about to drift off into her slumber, the rustling on the couch woke her up once more. Convinced that this would go on for the rest of the night, Sarah sat up, not bothering to turn the light back on. "Oh, my goodness, Chuck. Just sleep on the bed," she said.

"I'm fine on the couch," he argued.

"No. You keep moving around and it's driving me insane. If you really want to make sure that nothing happens, we can pretend we're in middle school and put a pillow in between us. Just get in the damn bed, otherwise neither of us are getting any sleep tonight." She was met with silence for a moment before she heard ruffling once again. She waited, not able to see anything in the darkness. Thinking that Chuck, the stubborn mule that he was, decided to stay on the couch, Sarah jumped at the shifting and movement on the other side of the bed. Settling back into her pillow, Sarah smiled at having won the battle. She then felt a pillow slap her right arm and another slap her right leg.

_He seriously put pillows between us,_ she marveled. She may have won the battle, but she still had a long way to win the war.

•-•

The next morning, Sarah woke up well rested, despite the fact that she was on a mission. Her pillow was decidedly firmer than it had been the night before. It was also warmer and smelled infinitely better than the generic detergent used to wash the hotel bed sheets. She tried to sit up, but she found herself pinned to her pillow by two strong arms, tightening their grip on her body. As if to make sure she wouldn't leave, a leg came over and further entwined itself with her own. Daniel Shaw was never a cuddler and she wasn't even on a mission with him so the only person that fit the description was the man who'd taken over her thoughts for the past two and a half years. _Chuck Bartowski._ She opened her eyes and squinted up at the man who held her in his arms to find the sleeping face of the curly-haired nerd. She simply laid there, her head on his chest, pillow barrier forgotten, and basked in the warmth and feelings of safety he provided her. His face was completely relaxed, not the trained relaxed look he'd taken to over the last two weeks. She smiled when he smiled in his sleep, muttering her name.

"Mmm… Sarah…" It was so nice to hear him say her name, even if he was asleep. But no sooner, his face screwed up into a scowl. "No… Sam…" Sarah's heart stopped. He was having nightmares. About the Rafe mission. About her. "Don't go…" He tightened his hold on her again and this time, Sarah squeezed him back, not wanting to let him go.

"Shh…" she placated, lifting a hand to caress his face. "It's okay. I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere." She held him tight until she felt the tension in his body loosen. She watched his face as his eyes fluttered open and his iris were cleared of the cloudiness of sleep.

"Ss…" Even in his half-sleep daze, Sarah noticed him catch himself. "What?"

"Good morning, Chuck," she said. "I guess that pillow barrier you put up wasn't very effective," she quipped with a smirk. Chuck finally caught on to the position they were in immediately retracted his arms. Sarah very nearly whimpered at the loss of warmth.

"See? I knew I should have stayed on the couch!" he exclaimed, standing up off the bed.

"Relax," Sarah said, sitting up. "Nothing happened. We're both still fully clothed."

"That's not the point!"

"So what is?!" Sarah shouted, tired of Chuck constantly trying to avoid talking to her. Said man went silent, opting not to talk to her yet again. "You know what? You don't want to talk? Fine. But you can't be like this on our mission, so you have one day to get your shit together." She got out of bed, grabbed her bath things and clothes, and went into the bathroom, leaving Chuck alone in the main room. She was steaming mad. Only Chuck could get her to react this way. It really wound her up that he could do things to her that she couldn't even do to herself. She walked out of the bathroom, dressed for the day in a light blue blouse with a light grey cardigan and dark blue jeans, and saw Chuck, sitting on the couch with his head in his hands, still dressed in his pajamas. Steeling herself so as not to give in to her first instinct to comfort him, Sarah began to arm herself. Her throwing knives around her ankle, her Smith and Wesson tucked into her waistband at the small of her back, the extra clips into the hidden holster at her sides. All the while, Chuck hadn't moved from his spot on the couch. As she slid her boots on, she looked over at him. "You said you wanted to be a spy," she said. "Being a spy means having control over your emotions. So, Chuck. You wanna be a spy?" Silence. "Well, when you're ready, I'll be scoping the convention hall."

She knew she shouldn't leave her partner and go out without backup, but both of them needed to cool off before they both got themselves killed. Sarah left the room and headed down into the lobby, stopping by the breakfast station to grab a cup of coffee and a chocolate croissant. She stepped out of the hotel and was met by the sight of children playing on the grass and joggers running the trail of Discovery Green. To her right, the George R. Brown Convention Center stood, stretching down the length of Avenida De Las Americas. Hall E, which was the hall where the convention would be held, thankfully was the hall closest to the hotel and therefore only across the street. Sarah looked up. A skywalk connected the second floor of the convention center to the hotel. Sarah marked it as a possible escape route. She continued her surveillance of the area, convinced that there were no potential sniper nests in the surrounding buildings for inside the actual convention, however, all bets could be considered off on the second or third floor or outside. But, considering that most of the convention will be held in the main floor, it shouldn't be an issue.

They still didn't know what the Ring would want with the hacker, but that's what they were there to do: find out. She walked up to the doors of the hall and pulled, only to find that they were locked. _So much for getting a lay of the land,_ she thought. In the broad daylight, breaking in wasn't a wise choice of action; she'd have to go in after dark. Though, that meant needing Chuck to bypass any security measures. Not that she couldn't do it, but he was just faster than her at it and he also took more preventative measures to ensure that later on during the mission, they wouldn't get caught on a technical glitch. _Whatever._ She'd cross that bridge when she got there. Instead, she decided to walk around some more, get to know the area better. At least, that's what she told herself. While her eyes wandered and her subconscious picked up the little details, Sarah wasn't really focused. Her training kicked in automatically, but her mind itself was running all over the place, thinking about a certain curly haired nerd in their hotel room.

As she walked, she could hear footsteps running, assuming it was a jogger, she sidestepped to allow him to pass. Rather than passing her up, the footsteps slowed and matched pace with her. Sarah gave a side-glance to the newcomer, not wanting to have to deal with some guy hoping to pick her up, and was somewhat surprised to see Chuck beside her. Out of the corner of her eye, she tried to figure out what he was feeling. However, upon studying his side-profile, she couldn't find anything that gave hint to his emotions. "Are you okay now?" she asked. She was seriously asking him the question, hoping to get him to talk to her about what was going through his head so that they could move past whatever slump they were in rather than shove it under the rug like they've been doing for the past two and a half years.

Instead, he just nodded, taking a sip from his own coffee. "I counted twenty cameras in the entire area. Three of which are facing the entrance to Hall E. I've already accessed all of them to catch any strange movements. I've set up a face recognition system that I can go through later to see if I flash on anyone. And, I've also hacked into the hotel and nearby hotels' systems to scan for any of our Ring friends."

Sarah wanted to scream. Sure, she wanted him to be professional for both their sakes, but she wanted him to be Chuck. _Her_ Chuck. _Sarah's_ Chuck. Not Agent Walker's asset or Daniel Shaw's trainee. She'd been so against his whole training because she didn't want to see him turn into someone like her. Someone who was broken, jaded, someone so detached from her emotions that it was difficult to decide whether she wanted to hug something or hit it. "Good," she settled. "Were you able to access surveillance inside of the hall?"

"Yes. And the surrounding hallways and areas." They walked on, in silence, until Sarah stopped and turned to look at him. Chuck stopped as well. She looked at him, her eyes calculating, trying to read every micro-expression in order to get an understanding of where his head was at.

"Chuck," she started, disappointed that she was unable to get a read on him like she used to. "You know that you can talk to me, right?" Chuck narrowed his eyes at her and he frowned.

"Can I?" he asked. Sarah definitely felt the shade he'd thrown. She decided to ignore it because acknowledging it hurt – knowing that Chuck felt he could no longer trusted her.

"Of course you can," she managed to get out with a steady voice. She looked into his eyes and could see that he was now studying her, as though he were trying to determine her sincerity.

"Yeah… no thanks. I don't think that's gonna work for me." Sarah couldn't hold his gaze anymore and ducked her head, trying to hide the tears that were welling up in her eyes. She blinked them away quickly and schooled her features.

"I'm not sure what else we could do pre-mission seeing as you've already done everything that was supposed to be done for today," Sarah said. "I'll head up to the room to do more research and keep an eye on the surveillance. If you want, you can go sight-seeing. I know you like doing that and since we're in Space City, well…" She didn't bother finishing her sentence, opting to bite her lip instead. Houston was practically nerd capital when it came to space and technology. She knew that Chuck would jump at the chance to go to the museums and other attractions the city had to offer. Normally she'd offer to go with him, but he obviously didn't want her company and she knew when to back off. "Just call me if you flash and send periodic updates so I know you haven't been taken or something." She backed up and started walking away, fighting against every instinct to look back at him. She knew he was watching her. She could feel his eyes bore into the back of her head. But, she held strong.

Soon, she found herself back in their hotel room and she noticed the line of laptops on the desk where Chuck had setup the surveillance feeds. She sat in the office chair and got to work, reading and re-reading file after file, scanning the many camera screens, taking notes, anything she could do to keep her mind busy; because when she wasn't thinking of work, she was thinking of Chuck and she couldn't deal with thinking of Chuck as it hurt too much.

She'd finally done it. Chuck had given up on her. She didn't know why she did it or how she did it, but she somehow had the uncanny ability to push away the people that mattered most to her. And, she'd finally managed to push Chuck away long and far enough that he didn't see her as he once did: someone worth loving. She wasn't trying to. The only thing Sarah ever wanted was a home. A place that she could go back to. People that she loved and knew loved her. A life with friends and family and fun and laughter. And, she had that with Chuck and his friends and family. But she got scared. She resorted back to being the little girl who refused to settle down and make friends whenever she and her father moved to a new town with a new name. It would have hurt too much when they eventually left and Sarah knew that Operation Bartowski would come to an end eventually and leaving Chuck and everyone else in Burbank after building a home would absolutely destroy her. So, she began to push him away yet keep him close because she wanted to enjoy the time they had together but didn't want to get too attached to spare her feelings for when she got reassigned. She was selfish, she knew. Stringing Chuck along the way she did was inhumane. And he'd finally decided that she wasn't worth pursuing anymore, wasn't worth loving anymore. She leaned back in her chair and brought a hand up to her rest her head on her fist, tucking her legs under her body.

She knew it would happen eventually. Chuck may have said that it didn't matter to him, who she was because he knew her now, but she knew; deep down, it did matter. He wanted to know the girl behind Sarah Walker: little Samantha Lisa Walters, the little girl who dreamed of living in a white house with a red door and picket fence, who wanted to play soccer and go to school and make friends and go to prom. And she wouldn't let him. She wouldn't let him know because him knowing gave him a power over her that he didn't know he would posses. And, she knew he wouldn't abuse it, but telling him about her past, all the things she'd done, all the people she'd killed and stolen from, that gave him the power to truly look at her behind the walls and the facades and the deceptions and make a whole, complete judgment of her. And she wouldn't know what to do if he didn't like what he saw. It would only cement her own judgment of herself that she was a terrible person, lying and stealing for just over twenty years. Chuck always saw the good in everyone, but she always wondered, _if he saw all of me, all of the things I'd done, would he still see the good in me?_ The question had been haunting her since he first caught her lying to him about the truth regarding her relationship with Bryce.

The sad look in his eyes as he accepted that she wouldn't even tell him her middle name made her walls crumble and by the time she was able to say it out loud, or rather, whisper it quietly, he'd already gone to get napkins for their dinner and was far out of earshot to hear her.

Sarah shook her head. She wasn't supposed to be thinking about Chuck. She sat back up, straightening her back to go back to work. She was surprised to find her vision blurry and when she brought her hand back up to her face, she found that her cheeks were wet with tears and there were more waiting to fall in her eyes. She'd been crying. Sarah took a deep breath to even and calm her breathing and wiped her face. She checked her watch and saw that it was nearing seven in the evening. She'd been there all day without even realizing it. And, Chuck wasn't back yet. _At least one of us is having fun,_ she thought. Thankfully, before she went into another spiral, her stomach growled and pulled her out of her thoughts. She realized just then that she hadn't eaten all day. She was just about to pick up the phone and order some room service when Chuck came through the door. She looked at him and watched him as he set some bags down onto the dining table.

"I, uh, brought you some food," he said, not looking at her. "I thought you'd might be hungry." Leave it to Chuck to still think about her well-being even though they weren't really on speaking terms.

"Thanks," she said, surprised by the steadiness of her voice. She looked at the bag he'd pulled out and took in the orange design of the fast-food containers.

"What's that?" she asked.

"It's Whataburger. Apparently, it's Texas' pride and joy of burgers. I didn't know what to get you so I just ordered the original Whataburger with extra pickles." He lifted her burger up and placed it down on the table, followed by her soda and fry cup. "Did you find anything?" he asked, referring to the piles of files and notes she was surrounded in.

"A little," she said, managing to mask the confusion she felt at how normal their conversation was. "I've deduced the different points of extraction available to both us and the Ring. I've also managed to get the list of all the people who have rsvp'd for the conference, cross-referenced that with the various hotel records you got, and then cross-referenced that with the files we had on the Ring." She dug through her papers and pulled up a sheet of paper. "I need you to take a look at the shortlist I created to see if you flashed on anyone." Chuck nodded and made his way over to her, taking the paper from her. She watched as the telltale sign that he was flashing came over his features. When he snapped back, Sarah waited for him to tell her what he saw.

"Jameson Ford, alias. Real name Harry Trask, suspected ring agent, former CIA, listed as KIA. Scheduled to check in at this hotel tomorrow afternoon." Another flash. "Michael Rutkins, alias. Real name Richard Saunders, suspected ring agent, rogue NSA. Scheduled to check in at the Marriot hotel tomorrow afternoon." Chuck looked away from the paper before he flashed a third time. "I'll look over the rest of this list later and take notes. I have a feeling I'll be flashing a lot. For now, let's eat." He set the paper down and went back to the dining table and finished preparing the table with their food. Sarah stood up and looked over the other bags.

"What are these?" she asked.

Chuck shrugged. "Souvenirs. For Ellie, Morgan, Devon, and Casey. Since they think I'm on an install here in Houston and Casey… well, I feel bad that he's been missing out lately."

"Oh?"

"Yeah." Sarah walked over to her seat and sat, trying to push the pain she felt. Chuck had always bought her a gift when they were on missions and the fact that he didn't buy her one now just cemented the change in dynamic in their relationship. She unwrapped her burger and quietly ate, sneaking furtive glances at the man in front of her. He focused on his burger, seemingly intent on not looking at her.

"Are you ready for tomorrow?" she asked as she took a bite.

"I'm ready," was his reply.

"Just remember that we need to make contact with Brooks. Don't worry just yet about finding out what the Ring wants. We just need to ensure that we can count on him being on our side."

"I know." And they were back to the short answers. Thoroughly annoyed at how quick he flipped his mood around, Sarah stopped eating and stared at him. When he refused to look up at her, she balled up her wrappers and trash and stood up. She was trying to be civil with him and thought that they were actually on some kind of path to talking normally. Throwing away her trash, Sarah went over to suitcase, grabbed her things and went into the bathroom to get ready for bed.

When she re-emerged, Chuck was still sitting at the dining table, only he wasn't eating. He was simply staring at his trash. She went over to her side of the bed and pulled the sheets back. "Don't forget we have to wake up early tomorrow," she said, climbing into bed and shutting off her lamp, not bothering to listen to his response, not that he was going to give her one.

She laid there, on her side, facing the wall, trying to catch the ever-elusive sleep. She never did sleep well the night before a mission. It wasn't until thirty minutes later that she finally felt herself drift off and as she did, she felt the bed shift as Chuck slid under the covers. She smiled to herself as this time, she didn't feel the pillow barrier go up against her back. And just like that, sleep came easily.

•-•

The next day, Sarah woke up and was slightly disappointed to be alone in bed. She sat up and looked around and saw that the room was empty. She frowned in confusion as to where Chuck was. He couldn't have left her for the mission already. She looked at the clock. It was only seven-thirty in the morning and the conference didn't start until nine so she was still good on time. She stood and got ready for the day, arming herself – sans handgun – as she got dressed. As she slid on her heels thirty minutes later, the door opened and Chuck came in with a tray of pastries and coffee. She stood up straight as he put the tray on the now cleared dining table. "I got breakfast," he said as he lifted his coffee cup and took a sip.

"Thanks," she said tentatively. She couldn't get a read on Chuck anymore. One minute he was emotional and broody, the next he was short tempered and irritable, and the minute after that he was caring and normal. It was like he was a ticking time bomb and she wasn't sure how to approach him or talk to him. Hopefully, she'd see more of his caring and normal side today and the rest of this weekend as they played their cover. Even if it was all fake, just the idea that they could be happy together made her feel warm inside and she was excited for the day to be able to be close to him and once again fool herself of possible happiness. She picked up a chocolate croissant and her coffee, enjoying her breakfast. They sat in what could be considered an amicable silence. At a quarter to nine, Sarah stood and tucked her Smith and Wesson into the waistband of her pants at the small of her back and put three extra mags in her handbag. Chuck grabbed his tranq pistol and tucked it away in the same spot and placed his two extra clips into the large pockets of his jeans.

"Ready?" she asked as she slung her bag over her shoulder. She held her hand out, a plain platinum wedding band sitting in her palm. A fake engagement ring and wedding band was already around her left ring finger.

"As I'll ever be," he answered, taking the ring from her and sliding it on to the appropriate digit.

"Let's do this."

•-•

They walked into the conference hall and Sarah had to admit, the place was huge. And, for nine in the morning, very lively. They walked over to the main stage, hand in hand, so Chuck could sign in for his spot in the hack-a-thon. Immediately, Sarah spotted their mark and nudged Chuck in the side. "There's our guy," she whispered. Chucked looked over and she watched as the flash took over his features.

"Wow. Brooks has been quite busy since the last time we worked together," he quipped. "I think I know what the Ring wants with him."

"What is it?"

"A virus. He developed it a year ago. Calls it the Oracle."

"Why's that?"

"Not sure. There's not much on the virus in the Intersect."

"So I guess it's back to good 'ole fashioned spy work."

"Here we go."

They got Chuck registered and signed in for the hack-a-thon and he made sure to get a spot right next to Brooks. Sarah stood behind his station, playing the part of a wife supporting her husband. Just as they were getting ready to start, Chuck called her over.

"Sweetie?"

"Yes, honey?" she replied, walking up to him.

"Do me a favor and purchase a bottle of Chardonnay over at the liquor stand?"

Sarah blinked at the request. _Champagne at nine in the morning?_ Remembering her cover, Sarah smiled sweetly. "Of course, sweetheart. Be right back." As a bonus, she bent over and placed a chaste kiss on his cheek. She came back just as the emcee was giving opening statements, introducing the committee in charge of the convention, and explaining the rules of the hack-a-thon. Sarah didn't bother paying attention as there was so much jargon being used that she didn't understand half of what was being said. Instead, she walked up to Chuck and handed him the bottle. He thanked her and popped the top, taking a swig straight from the bottle. Sarah's eyes widened. _What was he doing?_ Brooks, who was seated to Chuck's right, apparently took note of Chuck's behavior but didn't comment or say anything about it.

"For the noobs in the building, the rules are simple. Each hacker has thirty minutes to create a digital flag and build a wall around it. Anything goes with the wall. Firewalls, channels, worms, you name it. Once the thirty minute mark is up, each hacker will have to try and hack the other computers, and take the digital flag. Last one standing wins."

Sarah rolled her eyes. _He could've said that from the beginning._

"So now, we'll begin the hack-a-thon. Ready… Go!" Immediately, the hackers went to work, clacking away on their keyboards. Chuck had his large headphones on his head and his fingers were flying over the keys. Sarah tried to make sense of his computer screen but didn't understand a single line of the random mesh of letters and numbers floating all over his screen. She looked at the adjacent screens and noticed that pretty much every screen looked exactly the same.

The thirty minutes seemed to drag on. Some people wandered away to look at the other booths while others looked on in fascination. If it were up to Sarah, she'd have left the convention entirely. She spent most of her time just watching Chuck. He was clearly in his element. His shoulders weren't tensed, he was completely relaxed, and every once in a while, he'd take a swig of his Chardonnay. When she wasn't watching Chuck, she was keeping an eye out for their Ring friends. So far, she hadn't found any of them but she knew they'd be close by. Soon, a count down ensued as the last ten seconds of the setup time was running out. At zero, everyone put their hands up.

"Alright," the emcee said. "On my mark, begin hacking. Ready… set… Go!" once again keys were flying across all keyboards. Chuck simply smirked and pressed 'Enter.' Immediately, about half of the people's screens turned red, even the one on Chuck's left turned red with a little note and a little cartoon of a fish eating a flag. The note said, _Thank you!_ Immediately, those who got hit with a red screen groaned at having been booted out in less than thirty seconds. A minute into the hacks, four more people got booted off, this time, their screens turned black with a cartoon of the grim reaper, slicing a flag away.

Ten minutes later, Sarah found herself among a large crowd, watching Chuck and Brooks still at their computers. They were the only ones left and yet, they both looked like they were having trouble trying to even find the other's computer. Chuck took another swig of his Chardonnay and Sarah was glad she'd left for a few minutes and bought a candy bar and two slices of pizza for him for after. He'd nearly finished up the entire bottle, only less than a quarter remained.

It felt like forever, but finally, Brooks screen turned red and the cartoon of the fish popped up. Sarah blinked. Chuck won? Everyone around her went crazy, cheering on what she'd overheard as 'one of the best hack-offs in history.' Chuck stood up, proud, and stretched his limbs. The emcee walked up to him. "Congratulations! You've won the hack-a-thon in record time. Tell everyone here you name."

"The name's Carmichael. Charles Carmichael," Chuck said. Everyone cheered him on. Sarah, while happy for Chuck, kept an eye on Brooks in case he disappeared. Luckily for her, he stayed close by, watching Chuck interact with his newfound fans. Soon, he was surrounded by girls. Who'd've thought? Girl nerds found hackers attractive. Seeing an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone, she walked up to him.

"Congratulations, sweetie," she said, pulling him into a kiss. Fortunately, Chuck responded as a husband would and kissed her back.

"Thanks, baby," he said with a smile. Sarah smirked internally as the girls huffed and walked away.

"I bought you some pizza in case you were hungry." Chuck sent her a grateful look and took the pizza. Sarah watched in amazement as her partner scarfed down both slices of pizza like they were nothing. She handed him a napkin and he wiped his face.

"You see any of our friends?" he asked quietly.

"No." She snuck a glance over at Brooks, who was entertaining a couple of guys with tips in hacking. "But we should probably make contact with Brooks soon."

"Don't worry about him. He'll come to us." Sarah looked at him in confusion but he simply nodded back towards Brooks' direction and Sarah watched as the man excused himself to head their way.

"Hi," he said. "Crawford Brooks." He held out a hand, which Chuck gladly took and shook.

"Charles Carmichael," Chuck said. "This is my wife." He motioned to her and Sarah quickly realized – and was miffed (she'd have to talk to him about that later) – that Chuck still wasn't going to say her name so before things got awkward, she held a hand out.

"Sarah. A pleasure to meet you." He took her hand and shook it with a smile.

"And you as well." When they released their hands, Brooks turned back to Chuck. "I've gotta say, Charles," he said. "That was a great display of hacking. No one has ever gotten past my walls."

"What can I say," Chuck said, only a little smugly. "I do have to say, I've been out of the game for a while so I'm a bit rusty."

"I wanted to ask you about that," Brooks said. "There's a hacker. A complete ghost. Only known to the world by one name: The Piranha. Gotta say, man. When I saw your little cartoon go up, it got me thinking."

"Am I The Piranha?"

"Are you?"

"If my answer was yes, what would you say?"

"I'd say that I'm a huge fan of yours and that the name everyone knows you by here is just an alias. You'd be too careful about being so open about who you were."

"Well, good to know we're on the same page, Reaper," Chuck smiled. Brooks' eyes went wide. "Yeah," Chuck continued. "I know about you. You've made quite a name for yourself while I was getting off the ground. If anything, I'd say I looked up to you."

"Oh, man. You gotta know that that's a huge honor for me."

"You know what? We should hang out sometime. Talk about some of our greatest hacks, what we've been up to lately," Chuck offered, clapping a hand on the other man's shoulder.

"That'd be great! How about tonight? Dinner or something? I'll bring my girlfriend and you can bring your wife."

"Perfect." Brooks smiled and walked off after the two exchanged contact information, leaving Chuck and Sarah alone.

"That was easy," Sarah quipped. "Why didn't you tell me you were famous in the hacker world?" She immediately felt Chuck tense at the question before he answered tentatively.

"Let's just say that The Piranha isn't very good friends with the United States Government." Sarah frowned.

"What?"

"I didn't do anything bad, but like Brooks said, The Piranha is well known for being a complete ghost, getting in and out of systems undetected. The US of A doesn't like having a potential threat." Chuck shrugged. "I didn't think that it'd be prudent to divulge that particular piece of information to Beckman."

"Well thank you for sharing with me," Sarah said sincerely. Again, she felt Chuck tense slightly before relaxing again. He cleared his throat.

"Let's walk around the convention," he suggested. "Scope the area out, try and find the Ring agents. We've already made contact with Brooks so we're pretty much done for the day." He checked his watch. "And, it isn't even lunchtime."

So they went around, stopping and listening at each of the speakers at the different booths, all the while keeping an eye out for the Ring agents. Sarah was quickly bored, each hour that went by dragged on and felt like forever. She was looking at a display that talked about 'maximizing gigabyte storage in minimum space.' She didn't really understand the jargon, but she knew they were talking about making data chips smaller but able to hold more. Suddenly, Chuck pulled her arm and she collided with him, her hands resting on his chest. "What the-?" Her question was cut off by Chuck kissing her. It was slow and soft, the way that a husband would kiss his wife just because he wanted to. When they pulled apart, he leaned in close to her ear, his breath hot on her neck. It made goose bumps rise on her arms. Just as she was about to question his actions, he spoke.

"I just flashed," he whispered. Sarah's eyes widened.

"What? On who?"

"My six. In a suit, eating a slice of pizza. His buddy is standing next to him. Ford and Rutkins, our guys."

"Which one's which?" Sarah asked, spotting the two men Chuck was talking about.

"Blonde one is Ford, brunette is Rutkins."

"They're just standing there."

"They're probably trying to spot Brooks."

"They're gonna have a hard time in this crowd," Sarah noted.

"Exactly. Let's keep an eye on them, make sure they don't do anything."

So that's what they did. The two spies followed the two Ring agents, using their cover as a married couple to mask their true intentions. Sarah felt great whenever Chuck would place his hand at the small of her back. A warmness settled in her stomach and it gave her a newfound energy that she didn't even realize she needed. And when he pulled her in close to his side, she felt as though she could collapse right there and be happy.

Eventually, the two Ring agents left, not having made contact with Brooks. _Perhaps they were only doing recon,_ Sarah thought. Chuck and Sarah, after confirming that Brooks was also no longer at the convention, left for their own room. Once they were in the security of their room, Sarah did a bug sweep before voicing her concerns. "We still don't know what the Ring wants and we also let Brooks slip," she said, frustration evident in her tone.

"Don't worry, I've got a trace on Brooks," Chuck said, pulling out a small portable device. "I slipped a tracker under his collar when I clapped his back." He typed in a few keys on the device and showed the screen to her. "He's checked into this hotel and is actually in his room right now." Sarah marveled at Chuck. While she was busy getting distracted by his hands on her, Chuck was actually doing spy work.

"I'm impressed, Chuck," she said. As Sarah went over to her suitcase to pull out her cocktail dress for later that night, she heard Chuck mutter something under his breath. "What was that?" she asked.

"Nothing," he answered back, a little too fast for Sarah's taste.

"Chuck, if you have something to say, tell me." She was met by silence. Was he really going to go back and give her the cold shoulder? She was seriously miffed now. And, she had no qualms about calling him out on it. "What the hell is your problem?" she snapped. "For the past two weeks you've been avoiding me like the plague. Some days you act as if nothing has changed between us and other days, you won't even look at me. Tell me what's wrong! What's going through your head, Chuck?" When Chuck still refused to talk to her, Sarah barreled on. "And another thing! Don't think I haven't noticed that you've been avoiding using my name! Chuck, you know you can talk to me–"

"Can I?!" Chuck exploded. "Can I really?!" Sarah blinked. She'd never really heard Chuck yell. He'd always been the more passive member of Team Bartowski. "Because I've tried! I've tried to talk to you and I get nothing! Nothing! No, wait. I do get one thing: hurt. Hurt that I can never get a straight answer from you. Hurt that after each 'talk,' all I have is more questions. Hurt that no matter how real all of this feels, it's all fake. You're an agent, and I'm your asset. That's all it's ever been, right? I've seen the men that are obviously your type! Bryce, Cole, and now Shaw. They're all daring, and confident, and charming, and brave, and incredibly heroic, and I'm just me: the lanky loser who's the supervisor of the Nerd Herd at the Buy More. And, I know that I'll never have a shot with you because you're way above my league. And so I think, 'Hey, maybe if I become more confident, and daring, and charming, and brave, maybe I'll have a shot. I could make the world a better and safer place and get the girl of my dreams.' But it seems like the closer I get to becoming an agent, to becoming the kind of guy you like, the more you push me away and I don't get it! I don't know what I'm doing wrong! And really, can you blame me for not calling you by your name? Here I am, making a fool of myself for two and a half years, trying to get to know a girl who obviously doesn't want me to and some stallion comes by and she tells him the first thing I ever asked her: her real name. And I know you don't owe me anything. It's your story, your information to share with whoever you please. I guess I never had a chance. What do I even call you? Sarah? Sam?" He paused, whether to catch his breath or gather his thoughts, Sarah didn't know and quite frankly, she didn't care. Chuck basically told her that he resented her for everything she'd done to him for the past two and a half years. And she couldn't blame him. She'd done some terrible things. Her telling Shaw her real name had been the tipping point for Chuck and now, she was paying for her sins.

"Chuck–" she tried but her voice caught in her throat. His name on her lips, however, spurred him to continue his rant.

"Was any of it real? You caring about me, you supporting me and encouraging me? Or was it all just some elaborate ruse to get me to do the government's bidding?" Chuck shook his head. "You know, I've told you in not so many words, that I love you. There. I said it. I love you! I've loved you since you fed me that cheesy line about your phone not taking any calls. And, being the idiot that I am, I still love you. Even after the emotional rollercoaster that I've been put through since I got this damned thing in my head. Even after being constantly rejected and treated as nothing more than property of the United States Government. Even after I've constantly humiliated myself in front of the debonair spies that we just so happen to work with. I still love you. But… I don't even know if you love me back." Chuck deflated after his last statement, obviously defeated. Sarah knew that the tears in her eyes were streaming down her cheeks like two hot rivers. She'd cause this wonderful man so much pain and he still loved her. Hearing him finally say all of the pent up feelings, all the hurt that she put him through, it was too much for Sarah. She sat down at the edge of the bed, afraid that her legs would give out on her. "Do you love me?" she heard him ask in the most broken voice she'd ever heard. Sarah had half a mind to lie to him. She didn't deserve him. She should just say no and let him move on with his life. But the other half of her was too selfish. She didn't want to let him go. She cared too much. That's when it hit her. She _did_ love him. Her emotional stunting and detachment made her confused for the longest time at the odd feeling she felt every time he looked at her. So, she made up her mind. She was going to tell him the truth for once.

"God, I really am an idiot, aren't I?" Chuck asked, when Sarah didn't respond right away.

"Yes," she said, barely aware of Chuck's second question.

"I'll just leave you alone now." His words struck Sarah and she realized that he thought she answered his second question.

"No, Chuck," she said, standing up and taking his hands in hers. "Yes." She paused, looking into his eyes, trying to get him to understand what she was saying.

"Wha-What?"

"Chuck, I fell for you a long, long time ago. After you fixed my phone and before you started defusing bonds with computer viruses, so yes. Yes." Chuck then gave her an inkling of his special smile – the one he reserved for just her – and Sarah couldn't hold back anymore. She leaned forward and kissed him. It was soft and sweet. Chuck pulled away.

"Wait… What about Shaw and… and–"

"Chuck, I'm sorry that I told Shaw my real name and not you. Not a day goes by that I don't regret that. I was hurt and vulnerable and I thought you were changing, losing the sweet, innocent man that I'd fallen for and I just needed someone to talk to. I wasn't sure I could talk to you because all I wanted to do was get to know the girl behind the spy and you were so focused on finding the spy in you. And I just…" She sniffled. Sarah was never good with words and expressing her feelings, but one look into Chuck's eyes let her know that he understood her. They kissed again, and Sarah brought her hands up to the sides of his face. Eventually, Sarah pulled away. She still had one more thing to say. "Chuck, I need you to know something." She paused to gather her thoughts. "I want you to call me Sarah." She looked into his eyes as she explained why. "You know me as Sarah. And, out of all the names I've ever had, Sarah has felt the most real because it was the one that brought me to you. The one that you wanted to know. The one that felt as though she had a home. My real name… My real name is Samantha Lisa Walters, but I'm no longer that girl. I'm Sarah Lisa Walker. I'm _your_ Sarah. And, I always will be. I love you, Chuck." Chuck smiled his special smile and Sarah could feel her heart flip at the sight.

"I love you, too, Sarah." They kissed once more, this time, their lips and teeth clashing, fighting for dominance. They moved backwards until Sarah felt the bed hit the back of her legs; she laid down, Chuck on top of her. They continued kissing as their hands began to roam, exploring each other's bodies. As things started to heat up, Sarah's hand found its way under Chuck's shirt, her fingers feeling his abdomen. "Hiyo!" Chuck exclaimed. Sarah chuckled at the man on top of her as her hands rounded his torso and moved up his back. Chuck eventually sat up. "Maybe… maybe we should stop," Chuck suggested. "I mean… we have a mission and we're meeting with Brooks and–"

"Chuck," Sarah interrupted, unbelieving that he wanted to stop. "Shut up and kiss me." Chuck smiled and did just that.

•-•

Chuck and Sarah laid together under the covers an hour later. Sarah was pressed into his side, her head resting on his shoulder, her arm wrapped around his waist, their legs intertwined. "I love this," Sarah said.

"What?" Chuck asked, using one arm to pull her closer and the other to rub her bare back.

"This. When the rest of the world melts away and we're just Chuck and Sarah." Chuck kissed the top of her head and sighed in agreement.

"I do, too." They held each other for a minute more before Chuck's phone chirped. "Speaking of the world," he quipped, getting up to answer it, much to Sarah's chagrin. It wasn't all bad, she decided, as she got a really nice view of Chuck's ass. "It's Brooks. We're meeting at Vic & Anthony's Steakhouse at seven. That's an hour from now."

"We should probably get ready then," Sarah noted, getting up to take a shower. "I'd offer that we take a shower together, but then we'd probably be late for dinner." She grabbed her things and shot the man she loved a wink and disappeared into the bathroom. Soon, she stepped out and Chuck went in to take his own shower.

As Sarah got herself ready after her shower, she couldn't help but smile. Her and Chuck were finally together. Already she was thinking of ways to break up with Shaw. She'd realized soon after the second round with Chuck that Shaw was only a placeholder. She had no real feelings for him; she missed the way Chuck made her feel and because Shaw had expressed an interest in her, she gravitated toward him.

All Sarah had ever wanted was to feel loved and Chuck gave her that feeling. When she felt she lost that, she didn't know what to do and was willing to do anything to get it back. But now, she had Chuck and all was right in her world. They'd have to find a way around Beckman since Chuck wasn't an official agent yet. But she was sure that they'd figure it out. Chuck stepped out of the bathroom, only a towel wrapped around his waist. It took all of Sarah's will power not to jump him right then and there. No, Chuck wasn't buff by any means, nor were his muscles defined. In fact, despite him working out more to lessen the strain of the Intersect 2.0 had on his body, he was still a little on the lanky side. But Sarah knew that there were strong muscles hidden underneath the surface. She felt every single one of them under her fingers as they made love. Sarah blinked, waking up from her daydream, only to find that Chuck was dressed. "Hey, Sarah?" he asked. Sarah smiled, hearing him say her name made her heart soar.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think I should go with a tie?" He lifted a solid blue tie that matched her dress.

"Mmmm… As much as I love you in a tie, no," she answered. "This dinner is meant to be casual." She turned back to the mirror to finish putting the final touches on her makeup. After applying her mascara, she leaned back at examined her handiwork. Chuck came up behind her and wrapped his arm around her waist.

"You look beautiful," he commented. She smiled and twisted to kiss his jaw.

"Thank you," she said. She extracted herself from his arms. "Now, come on. We've got a hacker to turn." Together, they double checked their comms systems in case they got separated and made sure their respective weapons were secured, Sarah with her Smith and Wesson and her knives, and Chuck with his tranq pistols. "Ready?"

"You know it."

•-•

Sarah looked out the window as Chuck drove the few blocks to the restaurant they would be meeting Brooks at. One thing that Sarah learned quickly while in the city was that Houstonians drove everywhere, sometimes even when the place they were going was only a little over a mile away. When they dropped their car off at the valet, they went inside and immediately, they recognized the other couple they were going to meet. "Brooks!" Chuck greeted with a wave.

"Carmichael!" the man greeted back. They met and shook hands.

"You remember my wife, Sarah," Chuck introduced. Sarah smiled.

"How could I forget?" Brooks responded with a kind smile. "Allow me to introduce to you both, my girlfriend, Lucy Bristol." Sarah saw Chuck's eyes flutter briefly at the mention of Brooks' girlfriend's name.

_Not good,_ she thought. Chuck shook out of his flash.

"Ooh…" Chuck said, covering up his flash. "Sorry, I thought I was going to sneeze for a second. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"You as well, Mr. Carmichael," was Lucy's response.

"Please, call me Chuck."

Shortly after introductions, they two couples were seated, somewhat separated from the rest of the floor, to allow them some privacy. As they walked to the table, Chuck leaned into Sarah's ear. "Look's like I'm not the only one with a handler," he whispered. "Lucy's a Ring agent." Though there was no malice in his tone in the first statement and it was purely amicable, Sarah couldn't help but react.

"Chuck, I'm only your handler by title at this point. You're just as much an agent as me or Casey," she whispered back, making it look like she was whispering sweet-nothings into her husband's ear to others. Their conversation was cut short when they were seated. Taking a few glances at their menus, they all decided on what they were going to eat. The waiter came by and took their drinks and appetizer orders and soon, they were all enjoying their first courses with small talk regarding the convention. What they enjoyed at the convention, what they were looking forward to in the upcoming days, their techniques during the hack-off. Sarah, not much of a tech fan, or a social butterfly as Chuck, was happy to sit back and listen to the two speak and observe their surroundings. However, seeing as she needed to maintain her cover, she turned to the other woman. "So, Lucy, have you been enjoying the convention?" she asked, adding an ounce of innocence to her tone.

"I didn't get to go today," she replied. "I had other business in town that I had to take care of."

"Oh? What do you do?" Sarah asked, already having guessed that whatever business it was, it was Ring-related.

"I'm one of the public relations officers for the company I work at."

"Oh? That's nice. Which company?" Sarah noted the name of the company to ask Chuck about it in private. "I'm the CMO for Chuck's small business. He wanted to keep things very family-oriented since we're still taking off and because I have a degree in marketing, he thought I'd be perfect. So, this convention acts as sort of a working vacation for the two of us." Sarah hated telling things about herself, but it was all a cover and the perfect way to keep suspicion low. Anyone who tended to over-share would not be pegged as a spy. "Though, it's been more vacation than work so far," Sarah added with a knowing wink. "So, how long have you and Brooks known each other?" It was a normal enough question for two girls to be talking about, but Sarah had her hidden agenda: see how long the Ring has been interested in Brooks.

"Oh… Only a few months now," Bristol said.

"Three, next week, to be exact," Brooks jumped in. "Isn't that right, Sweetie?"

"Yes, it is," Bristol affirmed. Sarah caught the slight grimace at her failure to remain vague with that information. She made a mental note.

"What about you, Chuck," Brooks said. "How long have you and the Missus been together?" Chuck smiled.

"We only recently got married back in August. But we've been together for a little over two and a half years."

"And everyday gets better and better," Sarah added, shooting Chuck a loving look.

"That it does." They smiled, both honest with their words to each other. Sarah could help but marvel at how their real relationship sunk into their cover and only served to solidify it even more. The moment, unfortunately – yet fortunately, as it provided a segue – was interrupted by the waiter and accompanying busboy coming to the table to clear it and take the couples' orders for their entrées.

Once the food was brought, Sarah heard Chuck and Brooks' conversation dig deeper into what they've been doing technology wise. And, since Sarah 'worked' for Chuck's company, she was able to turn her attention to that rather than suffer another awkward conversation with Lucy. She'd already gotten the information she needed from the other woman anyway. "So, Crawford," Chuck said, steering the conversation. "What have you been up to?"

"Ah… You know… Writing code and things," Brooks answered somewhat vaguely. "I haven't been doing much hacking nowadays… I've been trying to develop my own software and get a business going."

"Oh yeah?" Chuck nodded as though he knew exactly what the other man was going through. "Starting up the business now has been pretty difficult. Everyone is selling the same thing: security, apps, plug-ins. You really gotta put yourself out there, offer something that's barely available. And then, you gotta find a way to sell it. Let me tell you, if it weren't for Sarah, I'd still be a loser with a dead-end job." The two men laughed. Sarah smiled at the compliment, even if he was referring to the cover, the look he gave her told her that he meant it and that because of her, he felt he could do anything.

"Well, I do have something in the works, I'm just not sure how well it'd sell," Brooks offered.

"What is it? I'm sure we could work something out… Loan Sarah's marketing and public relation skills out for a bit to see if you can get a small business off the ground as well."

"You'd do that?" Brooks asked, amaze and awe written all over his features.

"Absolutely," Sarah smiled. "I'd be delighted to help. Chuck didn't think his web-crawler would do much, but I had some friends in D.C. test it out for a bit and they absolutely loved using it for their research. So, I reached out to their companies and we made some sales, the deals we got alone were enough on start-up costs and then some."

"Seriously? That's insane!"

They talked a bit more about Chuck and Sarah's cover business but even after over-sharing some of their cover lives, Sarah noted that Brooks was still holding back on information of what he'd developed. Soon, dinner ended and the two couples found themselves outside, waiting for their cars to return from the valet. "So, Crawford," Chuck said as their car pulled up. "Give us a call anytime if you want to set something up. We'd be more than happy to help you out. With anything." Chuck handed Crawford an _Orion Software_ business card with his information on it.

"I will," Brooks said. "Hey, your name on here is Charles Carmichael, too."

"It's what I go by professionally," Chuck covered. "Has a nice ring to it."

"I see. Nice. I should come up with one."

"Maybe you should." Chuck opened Sarah's door and she climbed in, watching as Chuck rounded the front and opened his door, one foot in, him still talking to Brooks over the roof. "I'll be waiting for that call!" he said with a chuckle before climbing into the car and driving off. Sarah ran her bug detector across her and Chuck and the interior of the car before they spoke.

"Bristol is Ring," she said.

"And, I don't think Brooks is aware of anything going on around him," Chuck added.

"I don't understand why Bristol hasn't taken the virus yet."

"Maybe she hasn't gotten the order yet."

"Well, she'll get it soon, what with the two other Ring agents here. I'm sure the order will come in soon."

"We'll just have to keep an eye on Brooks."

"Right. For now, let's update Casey and check the surveillance."

"Roger that, Agent Walker."

They soon found themselves back in their hotel room, going over all the intel they've gathered since the start of the mission. They were currently on the couch, Sarah with her legs across the length and her feet in Chuck lap as Chuck sat up, leaning on the armrest. There were papers and pictures all across Sarah's legs and a laptop in front of Chuck, balancing on the same armrest. "Still nothing?"

"Sorry… No flashes."

"Well, hopefully, we can find out more tomorrow." They packed up the documents before getting ready and climbing into bed. Immediately, Sarah snuggled into Chuck's side. She was so glad they were able to get over the massive hump that had kept them apart. Now, all they had to do was finish this mission and she needed to handle Shaw. It wouldn't be easy and she couldn't guarantee that everything would be fine between the two of them; they still had a lot of things to talk about and work through. But, as long as they had each other, they could do it. With that final thought, Sarah smiled in content and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

And there you have it. I'm so terrible at writing spy things and had no idea where to go with the mission so yeah. This is where it ends.

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